New DE shaver needs advice on his "problem areas"

Do you lift your chin high and stretch the skin for under the neck area?....this helps...don't stretch too tightly though...you'll soon get it right....

I think you'll find the heavier Vintage Gillettes better too...so you can just use the weight of the razor ..rather than pressing on.....Though having said that I'm not familiar with the Boots razor at all....though I suspect its a light weight.

I've no experience of Pre-shave oil...I just lather up after a hot water soaked Flannel applied to the face for 20 seconds or so...Then leave the soap for the length of time it takes to put the blade in the razor....(I remove the blade and carefully wash and dry the razor after every shave).....But thats just me......maybe I'm a nut.

After shaving and rinsing off I apply Witch Hazel...used in an aftershave splash fashion..and allow it to dry..whilst I wash everything up...Razor/Brush/Bowl etc.....................Then apply Nivea Sensitive Balm..

But we all have our own different RITUALS.....This works for me.
 
One of my vintage gillette's was delivered yesterday but unfortunately no-one was in so its sat at the sorting office for now. The Boots razor is lightweight yes - I think my nicks are down to incorrect pressure so hope the vintage will rectify this.
 
p9ul said:
One of my vintage gillette's was delivered yesterday but unfortunately no-one was in so its sat at the sorting office for now. The Boots razor is lightweight yes - I think my nicks are down to incorrect pressure so hope the vintage will rectify this.
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You shouldn't have been using the Boots razor long enough to develop too much muscle memory of applying pressure - if, when you use the first Gillette you can make yourself hold it low down on the handle with a light grip, you'll be a long way towards getting rid of unnecessary pressure. What's required is to use the weight of the razor head and the upper part of the handle to hold the blade in contact with your face, which is where holding low on the handle comes into the equation.
 
There's no huge advantage to pre shave oil, I think I'm one of the very few here that use it and even then it's only now and then and mainly because I like a little face massage occasionally (and it smells good). I usually put it on in the shower. Usually before a hot towel, IF I'm using one.

Don't use more than a few drops, excess oil can work against a good lather. (Remember oil and soap are not easy bedfellows).

I think like everyone here you'll just develop your own routine over the next month or two with your new quality razors, you'll experiment and find what routine does your skin the most benefit.

Bumps, ingrown hairs and nicks are a fact of life for you right now in the short term, it will take your skin a few weeks to adjust to this new regime. Most people see more real benefits in the longer term, the more they shave this way.
I used to get through a lot of moisturiser last year, now I don't use any at all. Just takes a little time for your face to settle into it.
 
Progress! DE shave no. 4 last night and no nicks!

A gillette slim adjustable arrived in the post and I had to try it - but only on setting no.1 for now. That coupled with some proraso cream (no shave oil last night) and I'm getting somewhere. Chin went OK but jawline still needs work.

Thanks for the advice so far guys!
 
I'm going to stick at 1 for the time being, it's my technique I need to work on for now - I found the setting quite forgiving, but obviously not very close.

I did notice that my skin felt quite dry after the razor had passed over so I was re-wetting my face prior to re-lathering.

Also noticed a reduction already in the amount of bumps & ingrown hairs on my chin so I'm definitely converted!
 
Yeah, I have doubts I'm mixing enough and for long enough - I'll be back onto Mantic's youtube channel tonight I think. Any video's I've watched seems to have the cream coming over the sides of the bowl instantly but this isn't happening for me - I guess I'm not using enough...
 
Right - get the lather going with a damp brush - it won't do much except increase a little in volume, but it'll still look like smeared cream/soap. Dip your cupped fingers (not the whole hand) into your basin of water and add a few drips of water to the lather bowl. Work it, check, then repeat. Once the lather starts building but still sounds sticky and tacky as you work it with the brush, add a few drips more and then whip it. Hard. Think of making meringue. OK, don't go so mad that you wreck your brush, but don't tickle it either. You should hear the sound reducing in volume and getting "wetter" and less tacky-sounding, if that makes sense, and the lather should really be building now. If it doesn't, add 3-4 more drips of water and continue whipping. What you want is a smooth, glossy or pearlescent lather with few or no visible bubbles which, when you pull the brush from the lather bowl, generates a decent peak which wobbles around when you gently shake the brush but which doesn't collapse or fall over. If it does, you've overdone the water; if the peak is short, stubby and stiff you need a few drips more water and more whipping.
 
Chris - took your lathering advice over the weekend and what I'm producing seems much improved so thank you. With the proraso cream, the lather is thicker, the menthol fragrance is now much stronger and more noticable on my skin.

I'm very happy with how things are progressing at the moment, although my main problem area at the moment is my jawline and neck. This is where my hair seems to be its thickest, and it's taking some cutting. On my neck the growth is all left to right and I'm finding it a bit tricky to shave in this direction (and against it) - I'm only comfortable with an up or down stroke across the grain. It's the shape of my neck that's the problem (although I don't think it's radically different to anyone elses!) it's the "curve" where my neck becomes the underside of my chin thats problematic...
 
Somewhere on the forum there's a link to an old manual called "Shaving Made Easy". I know I've posted it and Fido probably has too. Anyway, it's mostly of interest to straight razor users, but there's quite a lot which is relevant to everyone. One thing it mentions is that most right handed men will have a problem with the area below the chin on the right hand side of the face - spot on in my case. All of which is to say that you shouldn't worry too much about that awkward spot p9ul, and that you'll find a way round it in the end, maybe some sort of slight slicing motion which I believe is now known as a "j-hook". There'll be something about it in one of Mantic's videos.
 
I had a bit of soreness after my shave last night and I suspect I know why but would welcome comments so I don't do it again...

Basically I had a shave whilst in the bath, it went well and was probably the best shave I've had since started DE shaving. After the 3rd pass (against the grain) I rinsed with the bathwater and also dipped my alum block in there before rubbing. It was about a minute or two later that my face felt really tender and felt like it was burning up - due to being in the bath I hadn't immediately applied any balm.

As my face was still wet, and I could still feel the alum doing it's thing - I decided to wash it off and this stung a little also.

Just trying to narrow down that caused the stinging. Could it have been using warm water rather than cold with the alum block? (as my pores wouldn't have closed up as they should have done) or perhaps that I was using bathwater rather than fresh cold water? (Soft water area if it helps) I'd left it too long before applying balm? or possibly that I had some emolient in the bath due to eczema.

The shave seemed to go well, no major nicks or cuts, but the stinging came after using the alum block...

Bit of a bad way to end an otherwise fantastic shave, don't think I'll be having one tonight to let things clam down...
 
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